Kiev’s Air Force fired three missiles to destroy a multifamily apartment building in the city of Snezhnoe, eastern Donetsk Region. At least eleven civilians have been pronounced dead as rescue teams cleared out debris of the collapsed building.

“At least 11 people
have been killed, as of 17:00 local time. Eight have been
wounded, including one child,” the Donetsk regional
administration said, adding that the all the wounded are
receiving medical treatment.

Assault aircraft fired four missiles at approximately 6:27am,
when most of the citizens of Snezhnoe were fast asleep. One of
the missiles hit the local tax administration building, which was
empty at that early hour. The other three hit a five-story
residential building at the 14 Lenin Street, reports RIA Novosti.

Two sections of the long apartment building collapsed completely.
Local residents and emergency response teams are manually
clearing debris in search for survivors. Altogether 12 families
lost their dwellings.

The outskirts of the
city of Snezhnoe, only 20km from the Russian border, has become
the battlefield of bloody clashes between the anti-government
forces of the eastern regions of the country and Ukrainian
army.

The commander of anti-government forces in the area, Igor
Strelkov, reported artillery fighting taking place on the
outskirts of Snezhnoe throughout Monday.

Fighting also continues in other areas of eastern Ukraine,
particularly near the regional center of Lugansk, with a
population of about 450,000. The Ukrainian army has been trying
to capture the city for some time now, concentrating a large task
force on it consisting of several thousand troops and up to 70
tanks.

So far Kiev’s forces have failed to enter Lugansk, but constant
shelling of living quarters claim the lives of civilians on a
daily basis.

Lugansk Mayor Sergey Kravchenko reported that over the last three
days 17 people died and 73 have been wounded in shelling, four of
them children.

There has also been fighting between self-defense forces and
National Guard unit occupying a village of Tarany, population of
which, assured self-defense, has long left their houses because
of the military actions in the area. Representative of the
anti-government forces told RIA Novosti they fired 36 shells
altogether, inflicting serious damage to personnel and vehicles
of the National Guards.

At 8pm on Monday, Ukrainian troops launched a ‘retaliation’
strike with 11 Grad multiple rocket launchers, causing serious
damage and fires to private houses in the village of Dmitrovka.
There has been a report of multiple wounded and dead civilians in
the village.

On Tuesday morning, after self-defense forces learnt the
whereabouts of Ukrainian Grad launchers, which turned out to be
next to small town of Amvrosievka, they launched an assault on
the Ukrainian army positions.

Ukraine’s National Security council confirmed nine dead and 25
wounded servicemen over the last two days, ITAR-TASS informed.

The last time Kiev’s troops conductive punitive operation in the
east of the country suffered serious losses was on July 11, when
dozens of Ukraine’s government troops were killed after local
militia shelled
pro-Kiev military forces with Grad rocket launchers.

A week ago groups of self-defense forces had to leave
previously defended cities of Slavyansk and Kramatorsk.

Once Ukrainian troops entered the abandoned cities, National
Guards began massive “loyalty
checks” and arrests of able-bodied male local citizens.